Research revenue ripens

Feds pump nearly $10 million into innovative projects

By Jeff Green

Diverse research projects – ranging from medical genetics to
fish technology – got a major boost from the federal
government on Sunday, Jan. 31, as Ottawa announced almost $10
million in funding for Memorial-led research and development during
a news conference at the Marine Institute.

The Faculties of Medicine, and Engineering and Applied Science,
along with the Marine Institute received funding under Round VII of
the Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF) announced by the Atlantic Canada
Opportunities Agency (ACOA).
C-CORE, a separately incorporated entity of Memorial, also received
significant funding.

In total, the units netted $9.6 million in funding.

The investment was made by Peter MacKay, the federal minister of
Natural Defence, and the minister responsible for this
province.

“The Atlantic Innovation Fund is an important catalyst for
building research and development capacity in our region,”
Minister MacKay said. “This latest round of funding ensures
that more research will continue to be undertaken and more
innovative ideas commercialized, so that Atlantic businesses
continue to grow, adapt, diversify and become more
competitive.”
Dr. Christopher W. Loomis, president and vice-chancellor pro
tempore welcomed the minister and other dignitaries, and
congratulated the researchers who are receiving funding.
“As the most successful university in Atlantic Canada in
securing AIF funding, Memorial takes pride in partnering with
businesses which rely on research and innovation to advance their
competitiveness, productivity and access to their respective
markets,” Dr. Loomis said. “This includes working
closely with technology-based industries to successfully
commercialize the innovations emerging from our laboratories, as
well as assisting in the growth of business-led research and
development in the province. The AIF has become an indispensible
program in achieving these goals.”

One of those innovative projects focuses on genetics.

The Population Therapeutics Research Group (PTRG), a not-for-profit
team within the Faculty of Medicine, will receive $1.8 million from
the AIF over a three-year period.

Researchers will develop a state-of-the-art information technology
platform able to generate large sample groups – family trees
– to conduct studies on the genetic contribution to specific
disease states, drug efficacy and adverse events.
“The system will be able to link a detailed, existing
Newfoundland genealogical database to information regarding drug
exposure and clinical outcomes,” said
Dr. Proton Rahman, a rheumatologist and genetic epidemiologist who
heads up PTRG. “It will provide support for new gene
discoveries linked to diseases, genetic causes for adverse drug
reactions, pharmacogenetic (drug-genetic interactions) studies, and
personalized medicine.”

Two innovative projects from the Faculty of Engineering and Applied
Science received substantial funding to further position Memorial
an international leader in oceans-related research.

Dr. Dan Walker is the principal investigator on a project involving
the university’s autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that
will receive $2.1 million over a four-year period.

The funding will help integrate sonar and advanced feature-based
navigation and adaptive mission control systems for the
university’s Explorer AUV.

“This project will enable high-quality seabed surveys with
real-time changes during the AUV mission to focus on areas of
interest, thereby reducing time, energy, cost, and risk of vehicle
loss,” said Dr. Walker.

“The advancements will enable the AUV to look at its
environment, determine its position, and be able to autonomously
decide which areas of the seabed to survey in greater
detail.”

The other project, involving the use of high frequency radars to
monitor ocean activity, was awarded $1.7 million over a four-year
period from AIF.

Memorial will develop new software for high frequency radar signals
that could be used in a variety of oceans-related research
including identifying the path and speed of ships and icebergs,
assisting search and rescue planning, and supporting meteorological
applications such as weather forecasting.

“The funding will be critical in enabling the production and
deployment of high frequency radars for collecting oceanographic
data over a very large area,” said Dr. Eric Gill, a professor
of engineering.

The Marine Institute’s Centre for Sustainable Aquatic
Resources will receive roughly $1.8 million from the AIF over a
five-year period to develop and commercialize new bottom trawl
fishing technology.

The centre aims to use new technology to catch commercial
quantities of finfish and shellfish with reduced seabed contact
compared to traditional systems, thereby reducing significant
environmental impact on the seabed.

Researchers will undertake the design and computer simulation of
innovative fishing systems, the evaluation of physical models using
the Marine Institute flume tank, and the construction and
evaluation of full-scale prototypes.
“It will help the Canadian fishing industry reduce seabed
contact while also maintaining economically sustainable catch
levels,” said Dr. Paul Winger, director of the centre.
“The result will be the development and commercialization of
new innovative fishing systems that are low impact,
fishery-specific and industry relevant.”

Meanwhile, C-CORE, a separately incorporated entity of Memorial and
an international leader in the development and application of
innovative engineering technologies for natural resource sectors,
will receive $2.2 million from AIF over a four-year period to go
towards research in radar-based satellite monitoring.

It will research into areas such as the next generation of
satellite imaging and radar technology aimed at predicting
subsurface ground movement.

This latest round of AIF funding will allow researchers to take
their projects to a higher level, said Dr. Ray Gosine,
vice-president (research) pro tempore at Memorial.

“I applaud ACOA for its vision and commitment to advance
research that is having a real impact in our communities,” he
noted.

“This funding will fuel leading-edge projects in engineering,
medicine, at the Marine Institute and at C-CORE which position
Memorial as a world leader in these fields of research.”

Memorial researchers looking to learn more about how to apply for
AIF funding should contact the Major Research Partnerships (MRP)
office. It promotes, positions and provides post-award
administration to Memorial-AIF projects.